World of Remnant
by enigmaticwonder85
Summary: The loss of her arm in an auto accident has pushed former martial arts champion Yang Xiao Long to the brink. When a family friend offers her a job testing VR games, she feels a new purpose in life as the technology has the potential to advance the field of prosthetics. However, the game in question could have fatal consequences. Welcome to WoR. But, it isn't something you play...
1. 3-29-26: A Desperate Battle for Freedom

Prologue  
"A Desperate Battle for Freedom"

* * *

Beacon Academy Ruins  
March 29th, 2026  
Players Remaining: 300,124  
Casualties: Approximately 69.9%

* * *

Among those present, many of the players had assumed their final battle would be on a large scale. The previous battle would have qualified had it not been a red herring. Not a single person who watched expected to see everything hinge on a one on one battle, a battle that they were powerless to assist in.

A battle that was going poorly.

Everyone present knew this was their last chance for freedom. The man who had tormented them for over three years would never let his secret be known. Their hopes were in the hands of a 17-year-old boy named Kirito. If he died here, the rest of the assault team had no hope of survival. While recent events would ensure the outside world would know the truth, it would be of little comfort to those trapped within this nightmare, if they even learned of the exact nature of this battle. It would only be a matter of time before World of Remnant claimed its final victim. Past that, there was no telling what damage this lunatic would cause to the world if he found some way to achieve his goals.

Kirito quickly risked a glance at his peripherals to see how everything was looking. Somehow, he had managed to take his opponent down to 59% of his Aura. Kirito himself was at 27% remaining. His health sat at 79% and was slowly dropping from a bleeding effect caused by his opponent's Moonslice. The realization that he was going to lose the war of attrition was a grim reminder of something he said a long time ago:

 _MMOs that use leveling systems are unfair that way._

If he was going to win this battle, then Kirito needed to get creative. So far, he had refrained from using Sword Skills and Semblance abilities knowing full well the chances of them being countered or avoided were high. That, and he didn't want to risk running his own Aura too low. However, the time for those concerns was quickly going out the window. By his own estimate, Kirito had just enough Aura left for the three skills he needed. If this worked, then the long nightmare would finally be over. If not, then all hope would be lost.

Ducking under a slash, Kirito jumped back to give himself room. The Elucidator began to glow a light blue as he rushed forward and attacked with Rage Spike. Several audible gasps filled the area as the distance closed.

"What are you doing?!" came a panicked shout from Blake.  
"He's just going to counter it!" was the shout that came from Agil's direction.

With a sadistic glee in his eyes, their tormentor could barely contain his excitement. "You fool! If you wanted to die this much, you could have asked nicely. The only thing this accomplishes is making poor Asuna a widow!" Oddly enough, the only voice not among the panic and screaming was Asuna. She carried a look on her face that radiated confidence as Kirito's attack was easily parried. Before his momentum carried him past his target, his Dark Repulser began to glow as he launched a Vertical Arc with his off-hand weapon. No one who bore witness expected a second attack with no delay. With no time to react, the attack landed true for two quick hits. The man who had started this deadly game staggered back. It was clear that he had not anticipated actually getting hit by a Sword Skill.

On the sidelines, Pyrrha looked like she was attempting to ask a question of Asuna, but she just couldn't find the words. Several people had the same look on their faces. The only other person present that didn't seem shocked was Yuuki. She began to laugh a bit. "I didn't think his crazy idea would work!" she said. "Leave it to him to find new ways to break the system!" However, an explanation regarding what happened would have to wait. Both of Kirito's weapons glowed blue as his stunned opponent was now at his mercy.

"This is where it all ends! STARBURST STREAM!"

Everyone could feel it. After nearly three and a half years of pain and suffering, it was almost over. The hour of victory was at hand...

...until horror set in once more.

Out of nowhere, Kirito's opponent glowed red. The shocked expression on Kirito's face said it all as he effortlessly dodged every blow from Starburst Stream with practically no effort. The glow from his Aura subsided just at the last part of the attack missed. Kirito was an easy target now that he was caught in a delay. With no choice, he too activated his Speed Semblance as his Aura began to glow black. It was enough to avoid a combo that would have proven fatal, but too much use saw his Aura shatter. With another attack incoming, Kirito managed to bring his Dark Repulser around to block, but soon found the weapon separated from his grip and across the battlefield. Getting desperate, Kirito drew his Five-Seven pistol into his off-hand and transformed Elucidator into its own handgun form. His hope was the barrage of gunfire would catch him off guard, but after another quick burst of Speed Semblance, Kirito quickly found himself out of ammo with a Sword Skill aimed directly at a weak point on Elucidator. As the weapon shattered, Kirito was left unarmed and took an attack on the leg that left him bleeding more and on the ground. A check of his vitals showed how desperate the situation had become:

Aura: Depleted  
HP: 29% and dropping with two bleeding effects slowly draining what little was left

Asuna was perhaps the most stunned at what just happened. "How?! You use a Moonslice Semblance! How were you able to use a Speed Semblance skill?" With a chuckle and a smug smile, the man who had imprisoned them said, "Sweetheart, I'm the final boss. We generally like to bend the rules. Haven't you seen Lance's level 50 Dragonite?"

Meanwhile, Yang was also in a panic. Looking to Mercury she said, "If you've got a plan up your sleeve, now would be the time to let me know!" His sigh was the only confirmation she needed. Kirito was about to die, everyone else would be killed, and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it. Once again focused on Kirito, the last boss of this hellish world circled him like an animal toying with its prey.

"I've got to hand it to you kid, you are always full of surprises. Arms Blast? Haven't had much chance to use it myself, but that's a fun one. Your little trick with the One Handed Sword Skills? I honestly wouldn't have thought avoiding the skill delay would be something possible with Dual Blades. But, it still wasn't enough, was it?" As he raised his weapon for the final blow, he screamed at the boy.

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR ARMS ARE TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD!"

At that moment, Kirito knew he was right. This would be where it all ended. Just not in the way he imagined...

* * *

 **AN: "Enigma, what are you doing!? This isn't Broken World!"**

 **No, no it's not. If you're a regular reader of my other work, you'll remember that I had mentioned several plans for side projects some time ago. At this point however, we can replace "side project" with "new main project." ^_^()**

 **I'd rather not get into it here as it's likely some folks reading this are first time readers. Don't want to start things off on a downer. However, if you're a long time reader and saw my author's note just prior to my last chapter of Broken World, I think you can put two and two together. We'll leave it at that for now. Just know that Broken World is on hiatus. I have plans to continue it and will fully address things once another chapter is out, but it likely won't be until the summer months. Forgive me for that. It's just been hard to work on and find motivation to push forward for a number of reasons.**

 **In the meantime, let's set that aside.**

 **Anyway, this one has been brewing for awhile. Sword Art Online crossovers are hardly new at this point. However, I feel the execution of some of those fics generally doesn't go past "Let's take characters from this show and put them in Aincrad!" On the flipside of that coin we also have "What if Kirito and company were playing a game based on this anime/game/film instead?"**

 **I find the results of those two ideas to be rather mixed at times. Other characters in the SAO setting are intriguing, but don't always work out for various reasons. Meanwhile, you would think making X world into a game for the SAO characters would be simple enough to do, but in some cases it just doesn't feel right if the characters from that particular world aren't present. I felt there was only one proper way to do this:**

 **What if the characters from RWBY existed in the real world alongside the characters from SAO?**  
 **What if the game wasn't set in Aincrad, but in Remnant instead?**

 **Could this work out well? Perhaps!**  
 **Is there a chance such an idea will crash and burn? Oh yeah!**  
 **...wait...**

 **In all seriousness, strap yourselves in. Don't feel overwhelmed if you only know one series over the other. I'm planning to write this in a way where fans of one of the two series can get eased into the new setting while at the same time seeing the familiar elements.**

 **One fair warning however: early on this might be weighted a bit more towards the RWBY cast. The prologue may have started close to the end, but this would be a very short story if I moved on from this point, wouldn't it? There will be an introduction to set up the game world, followed by a "present day" scene to help frame things in the aftermath. Following that, we're off to the beginning to see how everything went down. The early parts of the story are mainly going to be used to set up these "real world" and alternate versions of the RWBY characters. The primary SAO characters in a new game world are still the same characters at their core, but the RWBY characters in a new setting obviously require an introduction.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the ride. As usual, no firm update schedule, but I will at least say the introduction will also be up sometime this weekend. Already written and finished as the prologue/intro have been up on RWBY Amino for some time. Just trying to pace things a bit ^_~**


	2. The Vision of Akihiko Kayaba

In 2022, mankind finally built a full virtual environment.

For years, VR had attempted to reach such a point where the five human senses could not distinguish the difference between the real world, and a digital world. Many had attempted to do this with various degrees of success. All felt flat in different ways. The missing piece was the brilliant mind of one man: famed game designer Akihiko Kayaba. Once he had worked out the details of how to get everything to work, he set out to create his world.

The world of his creation was one of many legends and stories scattered through time. Mankind, as well as the race known as the faunus, were both strong, wise, and resourceful. Yet, the trust between the two races was minimal. The resources of this world were at a premium. Wars constantly erupted between the four main kingdoms, as well as the various tribes of faunus. However, they were born into an unforgiving world. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on them and all of their creations. These forces constantly clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning the sentient races of the world to the void.

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change. In time, the two races knew that if they did not unite against their common enemy, their time in the world would come to an end. In time, their passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would even the odds: four Relics of unimaginable power, and a previously undiscovered resource imbued with the very power of the planet itself. This resource eventually became known as Dust.

With "Nature's Wrath" in hand, the allied races lit their way through the darkness. Over time, attacks from the Grimm stopped being an everyday problem and eventually became a rare occurence. In the absence of shadow, came strength, civilization, and life. The Huntsman Academies were established to train new generations of warriors. Their task was the protection of human and faunus alike should the Grimm ever return in large numbers. Despite their central location in each kingdom, their allegiance was to the people of the world rather than the kingdoms. The Relics eventually came to rest within the walls of each Academy, linked to the soul of one warrior tasked with protecting it. In turn, the Relics shielded each school from those with ill intent.

However, even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. Old hatreds were renewed and reignited. Faunus everywhere were looked down upon. Huntsman and Huntresses attempted to keep the peace, but couldn't show favoritism towards any one kingdom. Commoners and officials within the kingdoms began to see them as spies, yet they had to trust them due to the fact that they were the ones best equiped to deal with the Grimm.

For hundreds of years, small-scale conflicts left villages devastated. Outside of the kingdoms, no true growth occurred. The capitals of each kingdom, as well as surrounding towns, grew into large cities similar to those found in the real world, but any villages that managed to survive were easily two centuries behind in terms of development and tech. The unknown parts of the world remained as such. Any attempts to explore them resulted in the explorers never being seen again. Rumors of the Grimm existing in these corners could never be confirmed for fear of drawing them closer to established settlements.

Despite the efforts of well-respected members of each kingdom, a full-scale war was inevitable. For many years, the Sanus Alliance attempted to hold off invaders from the kingdoms of Mantle and Mistral. Technology advanced at an alarming rate. Even the Huntsman Academies could no longer remain neutral as the wish to protect their families and homes became far too strong. Eventually, the kingdoms met in a deadly battle at the center of Vacuo, the Desert Kingdom.

That was the moment "she" had waited for.

With the strongest warriors and leaders of each kingdom present, the full force of the Grimm let itself be known. Unknown to all present, their queen had manipulated events from behind the scenes. Kings and generals fell. The Lords and Maidens tasked with protecting the Relics died. One by one, the Academies fell. Within one year, less than three million people remained in the world.

This was now Salem's world, yet a small spark remained.

Vacuo and Mantle were utterly devastated. Some humans and faunus now served her feeling it was better to live as a slave than die as a warrior. Ruins dotted the landscape, but the stubborn will to survive saw some villages and towns exist among them. Despite the efforts of her forces, Vale and Mistral remained.

After one hundred years, the final battle to retake this world will begin.

This is Kayaba's game: the World of Remnant. But, it isn't something you play...

* * *

 **AN: Just a short little intro to our game world for this crossover.**

 **SAO fans with no knowledge of RWBY are likely to look at this and think it's an interesting concept for the backstory of a game world. RWBY fans will quickly see that this was adapted from the main intro to Volume 1, as well as some bits of backstory regarding the Great War. Anyone well versed with RWBY's lore will quickly pick up on changes. However, those changes had to be made. I feel that Salem winning at least gives the game a final boss for the character to go after. The whole "secret war" thing from canon RWBY doesn't really fit well with an MMO in my mind. I figured the players within the world would want a clear goal. The best way to describe things here would be a game set in a semi-destroyed Remnant. That allows me to at least have elements from RWBY itself, as well as two of the canon SAO game worlds (Aincrad and Gun Gale)**

 **If I had to compared this to a game from real life for the sake of comparison, think of the World of Ruin portion of Final Fantasy VI ^_~**

 **I'll go into detail about the mechanics of the game world later. That in itself took some time to flesh out as I had to consider SAO's Sword Arts, RWBY's Semblances and transforming weapons, and GGO's gunplay. As we move along, some explanation will be in story, some of it will be in "bonus chapters" of sorts. Think of Qrow/Ozpin explaining various elements of the RWBY setting in between episodes for the general idea.**


End file.
